


Give Sorrow Words

by FantasticalNonsense



Series: ADOW Premiere Challenge Prompts [4]
Category: A Discovery of Witches (TV)
Genre: ADOW Premiere Challenge, Character Study, Episode 1.07, Extended Scene, F/F, Introspection, SPOILERS AHEAD
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-19
Updated: 2019-05-19
Packaged: 2020-03-07 16:04:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 660
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18876526
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FantasticalNonsense/pseuds/FantasticalNonsense
Summary: "The thought of Sarah being hurt again over Rebecca was too awful to bear. And now, she was going to do just that." A one-shot centering on Emily's thoughts the morning following Spellboundgate and her relationship with Sarah. For the ADOW Premiere Challenge WEEK FOUR || Favorite non-romantic relationship(s) / Favorite emotional or heartbreaking moment(s).





	Give Sorrow Words

**Author's Note:**

> Moving is so frustrating, especially when it leaves you no time for writing. Thank God it's finally done and I can focus on the remaining prompts for this series (even if they get posted at a later date). 
> 
> This was by far the most heartbreaking moment on the show (for me at least). I love Emily and Sarah, individually and together, and their mutual grief over Rebecca's loss and the feeling of failure towards Diana really hit me hard upon first viewing. I hope this comes through in the following fic. 
> 
> "A Discovery of Witches (All Souls Trilogy)" is the property of Deborah Harkness and Bad Wolf Productions. The author makes no claim to these characters beyond the use of this fanwork.
> 
> ADOW Premiere Challenge: [click here.](https://fantasticalnonsense18.tumblr.com/post/183957270920/thewhyldeone-di-elle-di-elle)
> 
> Title is taken from Act 4.3 of "Macbeth" by William Shakespeare [(here).](https://www.sparknotes.com/nofear/shakespeare/macbeth/page_172/)

Morning dawned at the Bishop House with its usual accompaniment of creaking floorboards, swinging doors, and Tabitha’s indignant growl as she was banished from the staircase to make room for the other sleepy inhabitants. In the kitchen, sunlight streamed through the eastern windows, promising a clear and pleasant autumn day. The coffee grinder whirred loudly while the kettle whistled merrily. Dried herbs from the adjoining stillroom wafted in, their pleasant aromas intermixing with that of the freshly-ground coffee and oven-hot biscuits. It was a comforting scene, one that betrayed none of Emily’s inner turmoil.

She placed the grinds in the portafilter and set it to brew, then proceeded to the stove to turn off the element. She lifted the kettle, then placed it back down. It felt strangely heavy in her hands, as though it held the weight of all her secrets and threatened to drag her down with them.

Emily sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. She had slept restlessly, her thoughts plagued by the notion that Diana had been spellbound—by her own parents, no less. She had long-suspected the truth, and hoped, _prayed_ , that it wasn’t true, that it was just grief clouding her judgment in the aftermath of their deaths. She could barely look at Sarah for fear of the accusations she’d find in her eyes. All these years, they’d say, and you said nothing.

She turned her head towards the parlour. The fiery witch had been unusually quiet. They had risen early to re-examine Diana’s back wounds, but after several assurances that she was fine and no, Matthew has already looked at, really Sarah, I’m fine, Sarah had withdrawn from the stillroom without so much as a protest. Her pale, worn face troubled her, carrying the telltale bags of a sleepless night, much like herself.

Gathering her wits, Emily made her way over to the parlour and poked her head through the double-doors.

“Coffee, Sarah?” she asked.

Her partner responded with only a slight, breathy shake of her head. She had her back turned to the door, one hand hovering over her mouth, the other clutching a throw-pillow to her chest.

Goddess, she hated seeing her like this. It was one of the reasons Emily had kept her spellbinding theory to herself for so long: the thought of Sarah being hurt again over Rebecca, of dragging up all those old feelings of grief and loss and pain, was too awful to bear. And now, she was going to do just that.

Emily sat down next to her, still unable to meet her eyes. She didn’t want to have this conversation, but enough secrets had been kept. It was time to lay everything out in the open. Slowly, gently, she listed her reasons for keeping Sarah in the dark—the unpredictability of Diana’s powers, her lack of tangible proof, her fear of breaking her heart—and prepared for her partner's angry response. More silence followed. Then, a soft, barely audible sob escaped from Sarah's lips.

“She didn’t trust me.”

Emily stared at her incredulously. “Darling, it wasn’t like that!”

But Sarah was insistent. “She knew us too well. She knew that you’d be careful, and patient, and that I’d just rant and rage, and go after Knox with a carving knife.”

Emily chuckled. “Well, maybe you should have.”

"There's still time," Sarah said. She remained fixed in her spot. 

Emily clasped her arm, urging Sarah to look at her. She explained that Rebecca _had_ trusted her, trusted them both to protect and care for Diana in her absence. Sarah did all that she could given the circumstances, and no one could have done better.

This assurance, while comforting, didn’t have the desired effect. Sarah collapsed into Emily’s arms, shaking with the strength of her sobs.

“Oh honey, don’t cry, please!” Emily begged, letting her own tears fall.

They stayed like that for the rest of the morning, holding each other through their mutual grief.  


End file.
